By Providence, Into Darkness
by Ciryonde
Summary: If you come from a world of heroes and monsters, what will you do if you end up in a place where everybody is a monster? Will you dig your heels in and try to stem the tide or will you break, and fight back with the same means?
1. Chapter 1 - Old Friends

_A/N: If anyone would get that impression, no, I do not own RWBY nor warhammer, I would like to though._

_This is the first chapter of my first fanfiction so it's a bit daunting to publish it. This chapter takes place entirely within the RWBY-verse, so no drop-pods through the roof of Beacon's dining hall, yet._

* * *

_This would be the last time she made the trip to Vale, her final anniversary ceremony_, Weiss realized, as her Bullhead approached Beacon Academy's landing pad. Anyone who would dare suggest that she looked old would receive a specially reserved Schnee-family glare, but she could feel that her body got weaker by the month.

"Weiss, snap out of it, you are forty-eight, not eighty", she said to herself, trying, but failing to convince herself that what she felt was indeed nothing. The scars had never truly healed, despite years spent with Atlas' foremost psychologists, she still needed to use her specially built Bullhead, since the engine-roar of the regular ones took her right back to _that _day, when her semi-conscious body had been flown from the remains of Salem's castle.

She knew that there had been a full medical team around her, screaming to make themselves heard, but the only sound she could recall was the roar of the craft's engines, struggling to bring her back in time to receive medical care. Just remembering the sound made the blood rush in her veins and her breathing rapid and shallow.

_Calm yourself, this is not the time for another breakdown, _she took a deep breath and looked out the window, her pulse returning to its normal level. As the craft approached Beacon's landing pad, she could see three figures waiting for her, the three having traveled ahead while Weiss rested. She could see Ruby looking at the craft in anticipation, Yang standing next to her, with Blake's hand firmly clutched in hers, as to protect her from being blown away from the craft's down-wash.

Seeing Blake, a slight grin found its way onto her face as it thought about her own daughter's escapades."It might be my final trip but at least it will be remembered," she huffed to herself, her grin widening slightly. The tabloids in Atlas had come close to meltdown when a daughter of Weiss Schnee had returned from a three-year assignment, developing the SDC's dust mines in Menagerie, engaged to a faunus. This was the first public appearance of her granddaughter and the thought of seeing her tiny ears twitch to the slightest sound, as she would try to take in everything around her transformed her grin into a genuine smile.

Once the Bullhead had landed, Weiss called one of her attendants over to help her to its elevator. Once there, she shooed the young man away with a hand gesture, he looked decidedly worried about her, but Weiss gave him a slight glare as the elevator started to descend, not one to scare him but just enough to explain to him that he was clearly in the wrong. _I might not be able to make an entrance down a grand flight of stairs, but I will not be seen leaning on someone just to stand, _she thought to herself.

_Walking, however, that is a different matter, _she thought as the elevator came to a halt. She met the eyes of the trio waiting for her, no words were necessary, no "How are you"s or "you look good"s. All those words had been said long ago.

Ruby came up to her and she put her hand on the other woman's shoulder for support and was rewarded with a slight smile. Together the four of them made their way towards the large open space in front of Beacon tower, where a platform with seating had been erected, Weiss leaning on Ruby and Blake's hand in Yang's.

_She would most definitely have a word with whoever planned this event, _she thought when seeing the steps that she would have to climb to get on to the platform. Leaning heavily on the shoulder next to her she clenched her teeth and forced her body to begin the ascent.

Taking her seat next to Ruby and Yang, who protectively draped her arm over Blake's lite shoulders, Weiss smiled, se felt sure she made the right decision when naming her daughters after her closest friends. She had fought to rebuild Remnant every day since she was well enough to stand again, and she had done a lot to improve the business practices of the SDC. But the wounds she carried, the nausea, the nightmares and the constant pain had only allowed her to do so much. Seeing the ferocity of her two daughters in carrying on the legacy made her proud that they carried the names they did.

Weiss was pulled from her thoughts by a familiar sight in the crowd ahead of her. _One and a half bunny ears, and next to them a beret, it could only be…_

"You've grown some new wrinkles, Snowflake," the voice of Coco Adel reached her. Her faunus companion giving her a light elbow to the side.

Weiss stood and prepared her fiercest glare.

"And you have taken a liking to potato-sacks, I see" she calmly said, eyeing the speaker.

The two women walked up to Weiss and for a second the three just stood in silence.

"It's good to see you," Weiss said and brought the two in to an embrace. "Hearing some of the stories from when you hunted down the remaining Grimm made me wonder if you would make it to retirement". Weiss pulled back from the embrace and smiled at her friends.

"Well, most of us did anyway…" The ever-cheerful Velvet Scarlatina chimed in whit a meaningful glance towards her half left-ear. "It serves as a good reminder for the kids at Flare never to get cocky", she added.

Weiss smiled and nodded, "Speaking of that, how does life running a combat-prep school suit the two of you?"

"Oh, you know, our graduates are the best trained _and _the best dressed huntresses and hunters to be in all of Remnant. They have a certain… Flare", Coco stated while winking at Weiss over her glasses.

Weiss groaned and looked to the woman sitting close by, hoping she wouldn't get inspired, but she seemed occupied with Blake's hair, the faunus' ears twitching when Yang's hand brushed over them.

"Well, I'm happy that at least one institution of learning upholds the strictest of standards when it comes to training… And language," she smiled at the two women.

From hidden speakers, music started playing, announcing that the ceremony was about to begin.

"It was good to see you Weiss, we will find you at the reception," Velvet said with a smile, while steering Coco towards their assigned seating.

Weiss sat back down and let out a sigh, _so it begins once again, _she thought_._

The doors of Beacon's great hall slowly opened, and Weiss could see the first figures making their way outside. She took a deep breath as the first four freed themselves from the deep shadows inside, after them another four and another, and another…

Four abreast they came, the team of Beacon, marching towards the platform seating Weiss and the other veterans and visiting dignitaries. One by one they lined up in front of the podium from where the many speeches would soon be delivered to all assembled.

_The speeches I can handle, but what absolute DOLT thought it was a good idea to line up the students at the same way we were, _Weiss thought tears burning in her eyes. _I will Not cry, I fought Salem and came out alive, I can handle this!_

Weiss closed her eyes and tried to fight her emotions but nothing she could do could prevent her mind from picturing _that_ day, thirty years ago when she had stood on the cobblestones in front of her, listening to headmaster Ozpin talk about how the war was over and now was a time to mourn what was lost, rebuild and look forward.

_Easy for you to say! _She could hear her eighteen-year-old-self thinking furiously, _what did you lose in this war, what was your stake? _She remembered looking to her left and seeing team CVFY looking at her with tears in their eyes.

She couldn't handle their pity and turned away desperate to rest her gaze at something else, anything, only to see the empty space to her right where JNPR should have stood. She hadn't been able to handle that either, so she had closed her eyes and covered her ears to block out the words assaulting her.

Her legs had not been able to keep her standing and she had fallen, knowing that no one was there to catch her. To her right, only the empty space where Blake and Yang should have been, and to her left, the huge void that should have been filled by a tiny girl in a red cape.

"Mother?"

The voice snapped her back to reality. Tears now flowing freely, she opened her eyes and turned to meet the blue gaze of the woman to her left, the deep blue eyes of her daughter, Ruby Schnee.

End


	2. Chapter 2 - Falling Asleep

_A/N Second chapter, still in the RWBY-verse, except for a very short glimpse._

* * *

The reception hall was full of mingling people pulling at her attention, but Weiss saw the glass being pushed of the table by a careless elbow and knew that there was nothing she could do to stop what was going to happen next. The glass collided with the stone floor and for a fraction of a second Weiss thought her safe, but then it shattered, and the sound made her vision blur and she knew she was falling.

She fell in a rain of colorful shards, looking back at the grand archway she just passed through, which moments earlier had been a stained-glass window but now was nothing but an empty frame. Beyond the former window she stood, the tiny girl with the red cape and the over-sized scythe who had just thrown Weiss from Salem's throne room.

Weiss reached out in a futile attempt to grab hold of her and drag her away from the blue fire erupting from Salem's broken body, but she knew she wouldn't reach her. In desperation she tried to summon a glyph to carry any of the of the bodies splayed across the chamber, the bloodied and broken remains of her teammates and friends, out of the room with her. She felt her aura failing, and the glyphs not materializing, she had nothing left after the final shot at Salem.

As she fell, Weiss screamed. She screamed as she was burnt by the blue fire emanating from the tower above her. She screamed at the memory of Jaune struggling to reach the convulsing shape of Pyrrha. But mostly, she screamed at the fastest girl she knew, who instead of trying to save herself had decided to throw her out of harm's way.

Coco never really liked attending these memorial ceremonies, the best way the honor people lost were in her opinion by deeds and not words. She tuned to the two Flare alumni, now in team TEAL at Beacon and imparted a few final words of wisdom.

"The most important thing you must remember is that a huntress' greatest strength isn't her own weapon or training, but her team, learn to rely on each other and utilize each other's strengths while mitigating your weaknesses and your team will be much more than four individual fighters".

"You might have trained alone at Flare, and that was to hone your individual strengths, but now you must transcend that training and become a team" Velvet added.

At the sound of breaking glass their huntress instincts took over and both of them spun around to identify the source as a harmless, but careless, young man whose elbow had pushed a glass of one of the tables. He looked suitably embarrassed and Velvet quickly turned back to her former students, continuing on advising them on the most important aspects of being a huntress. Coco's attention however was fixed on Weiss Schnee, whose face had a look pf pure dread.

Before she could move, however, Weiss' youngest daughter had grabbed her mother's arm. A man and a woman who had been standing by the wall behind them and up until recently had seemed way to occupied with each other to notice what happened around them also moved to grab the head of the SDC. The three firmly escorted Weiss towards a small door Coco hadn't even realized was there before but was no held open by what Coco's trained eyes quickly identified as a body guard.

As Weiss was carried out of the room, a very imposing Bull faunus and an almost equally tall human moved in to stand between the main crowd of the event and the indisposed woman. The two slowly backed up until they stood with their backs against the now closed door that Weiss had disappeared through.

_I guess all that money she spends on security actually pays of sometimes, _Coco thought to herself. _Even though, Weiss disappearing will be the talk of the night, I might have to… _Her thought was interrupted by a voice that carried over the buzz in the room:

"Mooom, can I dance with auntie Stracia? Little Blake Schnee asked loudly as she tugged at her mother's sleeve.

"Well, I don't know, you will have to go ask her" Yang Schnee answered, in a voice that sounded conversational, but Coco could tell was meant to be heard by more people than just her daughter. Blake gave of slight yell and sped of towards where a woman, who hardly reached Coco's shoulder, stood. She wasn't easy to spot due to her short stature, but easy enough to identify once spotted, a massive mane of blond, almost white, hair with brown highlights, belonging to Stracia Thella, daughter of Neo Politan.

"Auntie Stracia, do you want to dance" Blake said while looking up at the woman with the biggest and bluest eyes Coco had ever seen.

"Well, how could I say no to a dance partner as cute as you?" She answered and the two took the first steps of a dance Coco did not know. But she agreed with Stracia, the little girl was cute and as the mismatched couple made their way around the room, most heads turned to follow them.

"She practices everyday and her first recital is coming up in two months" Coco heard Yang say with no small amount of pride in her voice. She smiled to herself, _the kid has some skills, I give you that._

Coco walked over to Yang and said in a voice that she was sure would not carry to the people around them.

"She's good"

"Yes, she practices everyday and her first recital is coming up in two months" Yang automatically responded a she turned to face Coco.

"I wasn't talking about the dancing" Coco stated as she met Yang's gaze.

The silver haired woman quickly glanced around, and a genuine smile spread across her face, "You noticed?"

"Yeah, I once had to cover for an uncle that had way too much to drink when I was six, threw myself to the floor and screamed about how unfair it was that I had bedtimes. No one remembered my uncle's misstep, but everyone at the party thought I was an insufferable kid... My parents bought me a nice set of sunglasses afterwards though, so it was totally worth it" Coco laughed. "But seriously, that was smooth".

"Considering whose grandchild she is, are you surprised?"

"Not really" Coco smiled. "How is Stracia doing by the way, haven't heard anything about her in a while?".

"She never really was one to take to the limelight coming with being associated with mother but she has worked miracles in lower Atlas. I assume you saw the interview she and mother did about the importance of youth education and early intervention in trouble areas?"

"Could hardly miss it, what strings did Weiss pull to have it broadcast on ever frequency of the CCTS?", Coco asked with a slight laugh.

"Well, all I can say is that it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that her sister is high General of Atlas", they both looked at each other and laughed. Yang continued:

"But Stracia has been a huge support for mother and I am truly happy to have her close to home when me and Ruby are out travelling. If it hadn't been for her adamantly wanting to preserve her mothers memory, I'm sure mother would have formally adopted her and made her just not an honorary Schnee".

Yang looked down with a slightly troubled expression on her face and led Coco to the back of the room, away from the rest of the guests. "It can't be easy to be the daughter of someone who was on Salem's side in the war, and she does never talk about it". She sighed, "The only time I heard anything about it was when the two of us got really drunk and she broke down crying. Apparently, Neo had her when she was sixteen and living on the streets of Atlas. She couldn't provide for her and left her at an orphanage. A few years later, Neo was recruited by Roman Torchwick and the two moved to Vale. Letters Neo sent her talks about them find an assignment that would provide enough money for her to come back to Atlas and 'Buy the Schnee manor'."

Yang looked at Stracia taking Blake on yet another tour around the great hall of Beacon. "Turned out the financier behind the assignment was Salem, and the rest is, as they say, history".

Coco nodded slowly "Some of the kids at Flare would really benefit from meeting her, they believe that just because they don't come from renown hunter families, they can't make a difference".

"We should go talk to her when the dancing is over then", Yang stated, "Your parents does not determine your life, both mother and Stracia are luminous examples of that".

Coco leaned closer to Yang and lowered her voice further "Speaking of your mother, how is Weiss _really_ doing?"

"Well…"

Weiss Schnee was tired, and not in her usual 'can't sleep because of nightmares' way. She could feel it in every fiber of her being. The incident at the ceremony in Vale had taxed her more than she cared to admit, and just lifting her legs into her bed in Schnee manor was a momentous task.

Her head finally resting on the embroidered crest of her pillow she looked across the room at the glass case holding her old combat skirt and Myrtenaster.

"You served me well, but I think it is finally time to say goodbye" she told the antique sword.

"I know that Blake has come in here to practice with you, I saw the mark on the bedpost, you know. Take good care of her!".

She closed her eyes and felt darkness come and claim her, she knew it wasn't mere sleep, she would not wake in this world again. As she drifted further into the dark, she felt the pain she had carried ever since the battle with Salem subside and the freezing cold in her arms and legs replaced with a warming glow.

Weiss was falling in the dark void, but she knew no fear, for in the distance she saw a golden light and knew providence would guide her there.

End


	3. Chapter 3 - Waking Up

_A/N: Apparently, dying isn't always fatal_

* * *

Weiss slowly opened her eyes, pain surging through her body. Darkness surrounded her but above she could make out the shape of a broken ceiling. Lifting her hand as to try to reach it the pain in her arm subsided. Looking to her left where her arm had laid she realized that the pain stemmed from her lying on shards of broken concrete.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, slowly shook her head and looked down on her hands. The scars that had adorned them since the battle with Salem were gone and so was the pain she had felt in every joint when moving her fingers.

Looking around, she realized she was in some kind of tunnel, faint green lights shone from the ceiling ahead of her, but her section of the corridor was in complete darkness. Several connecting passages led away from the main hallway she was in, also lit by the same faint green glow.

Thoughts were swirling in Weiss' head, refusing to coalesce into anything cohesive. Trying to stand, she felt a familiar weight on her right hip at the hem of her combat skirt.

"Wait, you are not supposed to be here" she told her rapier. "I left you for Blake…". A sudden realization hit her, and her hands flew to her face as if trying to feel If she really was a solid person. Her fingers met smooth skin.

_Well, I am really here, but where is here? _She thought._ I died, right? If so, is this it? Where we go…_

Weiss' thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running feet coming from one of the side corridors. She turned around just in time to be tackled to the ground by a body leaping out in to main hallway.

"Emperor! Who are you?" the voice obviously belonging to the person on top of her.

"Doesn't matter, Adwin. Two legs, two arms and no claws, come with us if you want to live, lady" another voice said from the darkness.

Weiss was pulled from the floor and a hand grabbed her forearm and pulled her along, as the group of people started running along the corridor.

"We have to get to the Beacon,"

_Beacon? Are we going to school?_

"The angels are waiting!"

_Oh, so I am dead then, is this some kind of test?_

Turning a corner and running for a short while, the party came up on a door leading to a room with some kind of device in the middle. The arm let go of Weiss and for the first time she got a look at the people surrounding her, six people, dressed in dark colors, what looked like a mix between hunter gear and Atlesian uniforms. All of them were covered in dust and a three were splashed with a strange mixture of green and dark crimson liquids. She gulped when she took in the familiar smell in her nostrils and realized that the crimson liquid must be blood.

"Io, get the beacon going", said the voice she recognized as the one that had counted her arms and legs. A raven-haired girl confirmed the order with a nod and a short "Yes Captain", she then set to work on the contraption in the middle of the room. "Hey lady, do you know how to use that thing?". She looked at the man, the one named 'captain', who was talking to her and pointing at her sword, meeting his ocean blue eyes Weiss she gave him a quiet nod.

"Good, then you are with me, we need to buy Io time to bring down the angels". The captain turned and walked back along corridor from whence they came. Weiss blinked several times and felt herself gain somewhat of a grip on the situation and followed him.

"Are there Grimm here?" she asked as she reached where he had stopped.

"Yeah, they are grim bastards all right." he looked at her curiously, "How did you end up down here anyways? We figured everyone would be either dead or really dead this close to the Patriarch?"

"I…". _What am I going to say_? "I think I fell through the roof", she said as she remembered the broken ceiling and the concrete she'd woken up on.

"Okay…", he looked at her hesitantly. "Must have been one hell of a ride, we are 150 stories below ground level."

Weiss opened her mouth to respond but before she could do so, a screeching sound reached her ears.

"Here they come people, remember, we only need to by time, so don't you do anything stupid like getting yourselves killed." The captain then pointed at Weiss with a broad smile, "That goes for you as well, lady, I always wanted to save a princess and I can't save you if you're dead".

Weiss was dumbstruck, then she realized that her light blue combat skirt and silver crown tiara made her stand out like a Goliath among Boarbatusks in her present company. _Well, if they haven't seen a huntress before, I will give them a show. _She drew Myrtenaster, reveling at the familiar weight in her hand. Its presence in her hand made her fall into the routine she had practiced tens of thousands of times.

_Left foot forward, Right foot at an angle, arm extended, slightly bent, channel aura into the blade, what? _Weiss immediately felt that something was wrong, she could feel that her aura was charged, but she could not manage to project it outside her body. She tried summoning a tiny glyph with her hand, to the same disappointing result.

_Well, thank you Trevell, _Weiss thought, grateful to her old fencing coach.

Every time during training that she had been beaten to the floor, she had glared at him and pointed out that she could have easily beaten him with her semblance. His response had always been the same: 'I know, and once you can easily beat me without it as well, I won't mind you using it'.

The group was positioned halfway between the door to the room with the device and the adjoining corridors where Weiss could hear the sounds of their pursuers. As the sounds grew closer, Weiss started hearing snarling breaths and animalistic growls and suddenly a shape rounded the corner. _Well, that's no Grimm, looks a bit like a really slim Beowulf though, but with an extra pair of arms, _Weiss thought as the snarling creature started charging along the corridor towards their position.

"Alright, Adwin, you're up" she heard the captain say from her left.

"Sure thing Cap" came from the man next to him. He hoisted a contraption that Weiss couldn't identify, but when a small flame came to life in front of a large muzzle, she realized what it was.

_There goes my night vision, _she thought before the entire corridor in front of them transformed into a burning inferno. The creatures in front of them simply melting away mid step. Weiss felt the immense heat-glow at her front and the rush of air coming from behind as the fire consumed all available oxygen.

"That was it, I'm dry", Adwin stated as he dropped his flamer and pulled out what looked like a much more ordinary rifle.

As the fire still roared, Weiss desperately blinked to try to see anything but the flames in front of her.

"Lights out!", the captain commanded and suddenly a several more sources of light were present, the crew throwing out what look like some kind of chemical lighting devices. The Captain grinned at Weiss "Never leave home without 'em, princess".

As the flames abated, Weiss could see a mass of creatures waiting beyond the wall of flame and cracks of various types of gunfire filled the air. The captain had produced an over-sized pistol, whose bullets left tiny smoke trails as they flew and seemed to detonate on impact. The others in the company also laying into the creatures with various weapons Weiss. What caught her attention, however, was what was in the Captains other hand. It was something that Weiss only had heard people joking about on Remnant, it was a sword, but also a chainsaw.

_Not even a hunter would be crazy enough to try that, _Weiss thought. However, any doubts about the weapons efficacy she might have harbored were dispelled when the first creature charged across the still glowing floor. The Captain simply swung his weapon at its head and the teeth of the weapon bit into the creature's chitin and reduced it to slush.

The next creature came at Weiss, head low, claws ready to strike. Weiss smiled at it and once it came in to range she simply jumped back while extending her arm, sending the point of Myrtenaster through its eye. The creature collapsed, and she thought she heard a slight huff of approval from the Captain, but she wasn't sure.

The second creature jumped over the corpse of its fallen comrade, but not charging as wildly as the first but advanced slowly while swiping a Weiss. She caught its extended claw wit the pistol part of Myrtenaster, she could feel the strength of the creatures blow, but her aura prevented it from shattering her arm. Still keeping her sword-point in line, she let the creature's momentum carry its open maw onto her blade.

Once she felt her blade hit the back of the creature's skull she retracted it and jumped back to create space to engage her next enemy. Looking down the corridor she could see that it was crawling with creatures without number. The creatures, not satisfied with the floor-space, were coming at then by climbing on the walls and ceiling.

Refocusing on her task, she saw her next target jump over its fallen brethren and dropped into her guard position, prepared to block the creatures attack. However, no attack came and instead of swiping at her, the creature simply held all its limbs close to its body, protecting its vulnerable points and charged at her. Weiss extended her arm and punched Myrtenaster straight through one of its arms, which really didn't seem to affect the creature overly much. When it up was next to her it flung its arms wide open, ripping her sword from her hand, and sending her flying backwards.

Even before she had landed the creature was on her again ripping with its claws at her abdomen. Weiss felt her aura absorb the blows, but it would not hold for long. Apparently disappointed at the lack of effects from its claws, the creature lifted Weiss and flung her head first into the opposite wall. Her aura broke and her vision blurred but a loud crack pulled her attention away from the creature staring her down. From the room where Io had been working, she heard the woman shout

"Corridor, left, two hundred meters, right, into the big open area, patriarch!"

Weiss looked at the door and whatever she had expected to come through, it was not that, a hulking, pitch black robot with glowing red eyes whose over-sized pauldrons scraped the door-frame on both sides. She wasn't sure, since the robot did not have a mouth, but the booming voice ringing out over their tiny battlefield could not come from anywhere else.

"Come brothers, let us purge this xeno filth".

Four more robots came out of the room and the ground shock as they started running down the corridor with incredible agility, despite their large stature. As the first one ran past Weiss it almost casually picked up the creature that was about to attack her, and simply squashed it in its fist, not sparing her nor it a second look.

_Strangest_ _angels ever,_ was the final thought that passed trough Weiss' mind before everything faded to black.

End

* * *

_A/N: For now this is the last chapter that will be published here on , as of writing this I have written 15 chapters and 10 of them are published over at Space Battles forum. However these are the only three that I consider final and everything else is subject to change, so if you feel like knowing where this fic might go, just google its name and you will find it on Space Battles, otherWeiss (^^) you will just have to wait._


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